Tank fit up device



H. R. MCDANIEL TANK FIT UP DEVICE Aug. 20, 1957 2 SheetsiSheet l Mcan e INVENTOR WM We Aug.-20, 1957 H. R. MCDANIEL TANK FIT UP DEVICE Filed July l, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Henry Mcan/e/ INVENToR.

BY f i f www -'United States Patent 2,803,209 TANK FIT UP DEVICE Henry R. McDaniel, Houston, Tex.

Application July 1, 1955, Serial No. 519,545 4 Claims. (Cl. 113-99) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in a tank flt up device. y f

Itis an object of this invention to provide a t up device foruse in tank building where large sheets of metal-are joined forming a tank.V l l' It is another object of 'thisinvention to provide a device for fitting the abutting ends fof a pair of sheets of metal, preparatory to completing the vertical weld in tank buildlng.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a fit up device for completing the vertical weld in tank construction that will -align the vabutting ends of sheets to be welded and that may be quickly and easily converted from one size of sheet to another.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a t up device for aligning the abutting ends of sheets of metal preparatory to completing a vertical weld that will provide novel means for drawing the sheets of metal into position and that may be quicklyv and easilymoved into and out of position, having novel means for locking the device in the desired position while the abutting sheets are being aligned and tacking means applied to maintain the alignment. l With the above and other objects in view, the invention has relation to certain novel features of construction and operation more particularly dened in the following speciiications and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is an elevational perspective view of the device mounted on a tank being constructed.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the device.

Figure 3 is a rear elevational view.

Figure 4 is a top sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary side view, partly in section.

Figure 6 is a side elevational view,"in section, taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 3. and

Figure 7 is an inside view of the abutting plates, showing the anchoring means welded in place on the abutting sheets of metal, after the sheets have been aligned.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the numerals 1, 2 designate abutting sheets of sheet metal forming part of a side wall of a tank under construction. A curved pair of supporting beams 3, 4 are provided, with `a series of horizontal ports therethrough forming bearings through which axles, as 5, extend. `Projecting pins 6, 6 are mounted in the ends of the axles 5 to prevent their accidental removal from the beams 3, 4. Mounted on a portion of said axles are the ilanged rollers 7, and a pair of hangers as 34, 34 are mounted on the center pair of axles and have upwardly and inwardly extended mid sections adapted to receive a hook of a lifting device, such as a gin pole or similar draw works (not shown).

Depending from said beams 3, 4 midway and centered from their respective ends, are the backing bars 8, 9, which are preferably formed of T-beams, of rigid material. The bars 8, 9 have inwardly extending members 10, 11, the members 10 on the bar 8 being of greater length than the 2,803,209 Patented Aug. 20, 195'? ice members 11 on the bar 9 for a purpose to be hereinafter explained. Mounted on the upper end of the bar 8 is a piston housing 12 in which a suitable hydraulic piston 13 is mounted. A reciprocating shaft 14 extends outwardly from the piston 13 and is releasably secured to the bar 9 as by means of the pin 15. Suitable hydraulic lines 16 leading to a suitable source of power (not shown) controls the movement of the piston 13. y

Mounted on the lower portion of the bar 8 is another hydraulic housing 18 and in which is mounted the piston 19 having the extended reciprocating shaft 20. Mounted in the bar 9 is a laterally moveable shim holder 21 on which the shim 22 is mounted. A set screw, as 23, may be provided in the extended end of `the shaft ,20, which said extended end will be forked to receive theV end of the shim 22. When the set screw 23 is tightened against the shim 22, it will be anchored in position on the shaft 20 A3 pair of pivotal adjusting arms 24, 25 are mounted on the upper and lower inside faces of the bar 8. Anchor means, such as bolts 26, are welded inside of the tank on the sheets 1, 2. The extended ends of the pivotal adjusting arms are provided with bolts to receive the extended anchoring means 26. The anchoring means 26 may be provided with a port (not shown) to receive a pin, as 27. Or a pin, 27, may be driven on either side of the anchoring means, to move the sheet being fitted. The pins being tapered will permit an accurate movement of the sheet to the exact extent necessary to bring the sheets into alignment. 1

An extra set of beams 28, 29 may be provided to accommodate varied sizes of metal sheets. When the device is to be used on a different size sheet, than that shown in the drawings, the axles 5 are moved to the beams 28, 29. On the axles located at the extended ends of the beams 3, 4, are mounted suitable sheet gripping clamps 30, 30. A threaded shaft 31 extends from-an internally threaded port (not shown) in one section of the clamps 30, and is rotatably anchored in the other section of the clamps 30, and a wheel as 32 is mounted on the extended end of each shaft 31. A suitable means for rotating the wheel 32 and moving the clamps 30 into and out of clamping relation is provided, such as the chain 33 which is suspended inside the tank being constructed.

When it is desired to prepare sheets for vertical weld, the device is moved into position by a suitable gin pole or derrick, customarily located at the tank building site', the lifting means being secured to the hangers 34, 34 and upon exerting a lifting action, will center the pull to the vertical axis of the device, and will thus lift the device astride the anchored sheet of metal 1, and the device then lowered until the lianged rollers 7 are mounted on the top edge of the sheet 1. The sheet to be joined, as 2, will be-moved into place in the usual manner, and the device rolled along the top edges of the two sheets until the bars 8, 9 are positioned over the juncture of the two sheets. If the sheet 2 is to the left of the tixed sheet 1, as shown in the drawings, the clamp 30 on the end of the beams 3, 4, that extends over the iixed sheet 1 is utilized, anchoring the device in position. The shim holder 21 is then moved towards the piston shaft 20 and between the two sheets of metal. The shim 22 is secured to the shaft 20 as by means of the set screw 23 and the pressure is applied through lines 16, 16 by means of the valves 35, 35, moving the pistons 13, 19 outwardly and thus drawing the bars 8, 9 towards each other and vertically aligning the abutting ends of the sheets 1 and 2.

The pivotal arms 24, 25 are anchored to the sheets of metal 1, 2 by driving one of the pins 27 into the port in the means 26, the means 26 may be a stud or vertically bored projection of any kind welded to the inside of the sheets being joined. If the loose sheet 2 is out of vertical alignment with the fixed sheet 1, one of the pins l27 may be driven through the port in the extended end of the arm 25 on either side of the anchoring means 26, depending on the desired direction of movement of the sheet 2, and the sheet thus moved. All three pins will remain in the opposing anchoring means 26 on the fixed sheet 1 toassure a solid anchor.

When the abutting ends of the sheets of metal 1, 2 are satisfactorily aligned, the temporary retaining bars 36 are tacked on to the sheets, as by tack welding, the members 10 being of sufficient length to permit the bars 36 to be so tacked to the abutting sheets of metal 1, 2. When the bars 36 are secured to the abutting sheets of metal, the clamp 30 is loosened by reverse rotation of the wheel 32 and the manipulation of the valves 16, 16 to reverse the pressure on the pistons 13, 19, moving the bars', 9 apart. The set screw 23 is then rotated to loosen the shim 22 and the shim holder may be moved manually outwardly clearing the shim 22 from between the abutting ends of the sheets 1, 2 and the pins 27 then removed from the anchoring means 26, freeing the pivotal arms 25, and the device rolled to the end of the sheet 2, and the process repeated for the next vertical weld fit up.

As may be seen from the drawings, the device is designed to move either to the left or to the right after positioned on the xed sheet of metal, and, while it is customary to perform the work on the inside of the tank, placing the temporary bars 36 on the inside and starting the vertical weld on the outside, the procedure may be readily reversed by merely mounting the device with the piston housings 12, 18 on the outside of the tank.

There are two common sizes of sheet metal plates used in tank construction, and applicant has provided a set of beams 3, 4 and 2S, 29 for each size. All that is neces* sary to connect the device from one size to another is the vremoval of the pins 6 from the axles 5, and remov ing the axles 5 and rollers 7 from the beams in which they are mounted and remounting them in the other set of beams. The clamps 30, 30 are suspended from the end axles, and will, of course, be moved with the axles to the new location.

While the foregoing is considered a preferred form of the invention, it is by way of illustration only, the broad principle of the invention being defined by the appended claims.

What l claim is:

l. In a vertical weld fit up device, two rigid vertical beams and two rigid horizontal beams, the upper end of `each vertical beam rigidly secured to the center portion of the corresponding horizontal beam, said horizontal beams being slidably connected for relative horizontal movement, an actuating means on said beams for producing said movement, a plurality of flanged rollers pivotally connected between the horizontal beams and plate clamping means secured to one end of said horizontal beams, a plurality of pairs of horizontally extending pivoted arms on one of said vertical beams, each bar having arms extending on opposite sides of the beam `and each arm being provided with a plurality of vertically extending openings, drive pins for said openings, said openings and pins being adapted for connecting said arms to `lugs on the work for anchoring and positioning said work.

2. In a vertical weld fit up device for sheet metal tank construction, a pair of rigid vertical bars, and a pair of rigid horizontal bars, the upper end of each vertical bar being rigidly secured to the center portion of the corresponding horizontal bar, said vertical bars being slidably connected for horizontal movement toward and away from each other, means mounted on said bars for moving said vertical bars into the desired position relative to each other, means mounted on said horizontal bars for movably mounting said horizontal bars on a fixed plate and a loose plate of lug bearing sheet metal to be joined and means on said bars for clamping said loose plate in aligned position with said fixed plate, inwardly extending members on said vertical bars for bearing against the said metal plates at their abutting ends, pivotal arms extending from opposite sides of one of said vertical bars having means for adjustably securing same to the lugs of the loose plate to be welded and rigidly anchoring said arms kto the lugs of the fixed plate.

3. In a vertical weld lit up device for sheet metal tank construction, a pair of rigid horizontal bars having a pair of depending rigid bars, one end of each of which is secured to the centerportion of the corresponding horizontal bar, said vertical bars being slidably connected for 'horizontal movement toward and away from each other, hydraulically operated means on said vertical bars for moving said bars towards each other and against said sheets of metal, ilanged wheels pivotally mounted between said horizontal bars for movably mounting said bars on lug bearing sheets of metal to be formed into a tank, a plurality of pairs of horizontally extended pivotal arms mounted on opposite .sides of one of said vertical bars and having orifices at their extended ends, the orifices of said vertical bars adapted to be positioned to receive said lugs and to be aligned with vertical ports in said lugs, and tapered pins adapted to be detachably anchored in said orifices ,in said arms and in said ports in the said lugs on one sheet of metal and on either side of said lugs on the other sheet of metal.

4. In a vertical weld fit up device for use in sheet metal tank construction in joining a pair of lug bearing sheets of metal, a pair of rigid depending bars, a pair of rigid curved horizontal beams one end of each of said bars being mounted rigidly to the center portion of .the corresponding beam, said beams being slidably connected for relative horizontal movement, means on said beams for producing said movement and a clamp on one end of said beams for anchoring said bars at the juncture of said sheets of metal, one of said sheets of metal being fixed and the other being loose, a plurality lof pivotal arms extending laterally from opposite sides of one of said bars and having means ont he extended ends thereof for anchoringsaid arms to said lugs on said fixed sheet of metal and for adjustably anchoring said arms to said lugs on said loose sheet of metal.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Williams Feb. 13, 1934 Allen Feb. 16, 1937 

